New Orleans Pelicans: 4 Overreactions to the 111-98 loss to the Heat

New Orleans Pelicans: Zion Williamson’s defense

Overreaction #4: Zion Williamson can’t play defense!

Ok, so this one is definitely an overreaction because Zion hasn’t even played 30 games, but his defense against Miami was largely inconsistent.

He did have some nice moments, like when he flashed into the passing lane on a nice rotation in the first half and grabbed a steal.

Zion also had 10 defensive rebounds (14 total) which helped close out defensive possessions for the Pelicans, something he needs to continue.

But Zion was also late on rotations all day, got blown by several times, and generally was a step slow, which led to his -13 plus/minus.

The Pelicans were doomed every time Steven Adams left the game and it was obvious every time he wasn’t in there.

Look, Zion is 20-years-old and scored 32 points with 14 rebounds in the game, so let’s not overreact too much to some porous defense.

The nuances of defense take time to learn and Zion Williamson will get there eventually. Even if he doesn’t, he is such a force on offense that it won’t matter on most nights.

The New Orleans Pelicans learned a little about themselves in the loss to Miami. They need to get more out of their backup bigs and they need to commit to defense for the entire game.